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Is this exam strategy a good idea?

Basically, I've got 5 exams next week from Monday. Suppose the exam on Monday is from 9am to 11am. My possible strategy is to relax for a couple of hours, then go to bed around 2pm and wake up at 11-12am. Then I would work and revise until the next exam, say 9am Tuesday. This would then be repeated until the exam on Friday where afterwards I would just sleep until Saturday morning..

It seems a good idea as I have a fairly good short term memory, so I'd remember more in situation A - sleep + 6-7hrs work, than in the opposite situation (6-7hrs work + sleep).

(Yes, I know its really bad socially but not considering that I think this could really work.. )

That said, if this is a terrible idea, make me see sense. :colondollar:

(I should also make it clear that all exams in the week at at 9am, and only one exam per day.)

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 1

Lil08

You need sufficient sleep before the exam. Your brain uses sleep to store information. Also, drink water as it plays an essential and vital role in keeping the brain working at its best (not too much or else it'll make you piss like a pregnant women).

Reply 2

AnnaWintour

I was in exactly the same situation last semester. I woke up at 5 p.m. on Sunday, I studied till the time I have to go to take the exam, come back, sleep and so on. It worked !! I got all A Good luck !

Reply 3

ufo2012

I think your idea is a good one and from experience it works :smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 4

AnnaWintour

Original post by Lil08

I think it is individual. My brain works better if I don't sleep before the exam.

Reply 5

TimmonaPortella

It depends how your body clock is now. If your body clock is already set to a time pattern like that, do it. From experience, if you try fundamentally to change your sleeping pattern at short notice you'll end up tired precisely when you don't want to be. That's just me, though.

Reply 6

tans8701

its pretty good but i think your hardest part will be actually staying asleep from 2pm-12am on monday especially if you woke up in the morning,

that will be the hardest thing for your body to adjust to, but if you are already used to this is won't be a problem.

5 9am starts i feel for you i MUCH prefer 1.30's

Reply 7

Banishingboredom

I remember more/ work better at night anyway, so I'd definitely have considered something like that in your position. For my last exam I did an all-nighter the night before, cramming as much as I could, then took a Red Bull shot before the exam. Worked a treat...

One warning with your plan though, if for whatever reason you can't get to sleep during the day, it'll all fall apart and you could burn out/ end up sleeping when you need to revise.

Reply 8

Butterfly9595

Theoretically it could work, but it depends whether your body would adjust to sleeping like that - maybe you could go to bed a couple of hours earlier than normal, then wake up at like 4am or something? That way you don't risk being really tired in exams etc to the same extent and your body clock isn't thrown too badly out of sync...

Good Luck with your exams anyway :smile:

Reply 9

F1Addict

Thanks for the feedback and luck! I think I'm probably not going to go ahead with the strategy.. my body clock is fairly normal right now, and changing it really quickly could end up with disaster.. not going to risk that. :tongue:

Though, if anyone's got time before their next exam and wants to try this strategy out, I wish you the best of luck. Its pretty much like sitting an exam about 6-7pm in the evening (bodyclock-wise). :smile:

Reply 10

. . .

Original post by F1Addict

(I should also make it clear that all exams in the week at at 9am, and only one exam per day.)

It's worked for me on several occasions. Go for it.

Reply 11

tomaird

Original post by F1Addict

Yeah I wouldn't try that as your body would get really confused and you'd probably end up feeling worse. Just stick to normal sleeping times and revise in moderation and you should be fine :smile:

Reply 12

Lil08

The last I tried that for an exam, I actually felt sick.

Reply 13

aussieberliner

do what works for you, although i think for many people this would be a detrimental way to study in terms of retention and understanding. it's always better to learn more over long periods of time.